World Premiere BMW i3, New York City, 29 July 2013

July 29 2013 BMW i3 Intro New York City: Statement by Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management
of BMW AG

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Innovation drives change.

And truly revolutionary innovations can even transform society. There is
a powerful idea behind them – and a strong desire to create something
better for tomorrow.

This is why we are here today. We are at the starting-blocks of a new
era — the era of sustainable mobility.

Welcome to New York City, America’s premier megacity with over 8.3
million residents.

I am delighted to present – for the first time – the BMW
i3.

Big changes start small. Looking back in history, we can find many
examples of this. Today, the BMW i3 marks the beginning of a new mobility
age. To put this into perspective, take a look at the mobile phone in your
pocket. We had more than one hundred years of landline telephones. Then
came the mobile phone and it completely changed how we interact with our
world. The mobile phone opened up business opportunities that no one would
have believed possible.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The car industry has waited well over a century for its own revolution.
Today the wait is over. What the mobile phone did for communication,
electric mobility will do for individual mobility.

The BMW i3 is more than an evolutionary step —it is a great leap
forward. From sketch to street, the i3 is unique in every respect. With the
intention of creating a truly sustainable car, we conducted research in
megacities around the world.

Years of research in collaboration with Megacity experts around the
world, and

Thousands of hours talking with customers.

From the start, we redesigned our entire development and production
processes. The BMW i3 is purpose-built around an electric powertrain to
serve the needs of our megacity customers.

The BMW i3 is Born Electric.

This is premium at its very best.

With every step of the way from development, to production, to
after-sales, the BMW i3 sets new benchmarks in sustainable mobility. In the
brand-new architecture, we use carbon fibre for the passenger cell —
a first in high-volume car production. Our expertise in manufacturing with
this material makes the passenger cell extremely strong and light weight.
We produce the carbon fibre material using hydroelectric power. And we
build the BMW i3 using wind power.

This is an industry first.

Our innovative production methods are also unique.

Carbon fibre components are bonded together in a fully automated
process. The bonding techniques we have developed in-house are setting new
industry standards.

The innovations of the BMW i3 go beyond R&D and production to include
customer experience.

We will support all of our BMW i3 customers with a comprehensive set of
premium service offerings. This approach, “360 Degree
Electric”, will make BMW i3 driving enjoyable and easy. Adding to the
BMW i3’s relaxing experience is the open interior with its lounge
atmosphere.

And of course, the BMW i3 will share one dynamic quality with every
other BMW on the road: It will be an Ultimate Driving Machine.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In response to global trends such as urbanization and increasing carbon
emissions, sustainability is an important part of a modern, urban
lifestyle. The BMW i3 is the perfect solution to the mobility needs of
people here in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has committed the
remainder of his term to making New York City the greenest city on earth by
supporting several citywide programs. Foremost, he seeks to improve and
expand sustainable transportation infrastructure. We support with Mayor
Bloomberg’s efforts to connect public parking spots in NYC for
electric vehicle charging – up to 20 percent over the next seven
years. This promotes not only sustainable mobility solutions, but also cost
savings.

Charging your electric car costs up to 30 percent less than the average
of what you now pay at the pump.

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